New Delhi and Chennai reported maximum number of road accidents while Uttar Pradesh had most deaths due to speeding and talking on mobile phone, according to transport ministry’s research wing report.

A mangled car at Safdar Jung and Ring Road crossing in New Delhi in July. Almost half or 46.3% of the road fatalities victim in 2016 were in the age-group of 18-35 years.(Sushil Kumar/HT File Photo)

India witnessed 17 deaths and 55 road accidents every hour in 2016, one of the highest in the world, according to the latest report released by the Union road transport and highways ministry.

The report compiled by the ministry’s Transport Research Wing said road accidents killed 150,785 people across India in 2016 — a 3.3% jump from 2015 when 146,000 lakh road fatalities were reported — indicating Indian roads continue to be one of the deadliest in the world.

The number of road accidents, however, declined from 501,000 lakh in 2015 to 480,652 lakh in 2016.

“This reflects an alarming trend that while the number of accidents has gone down, their severity has increased resulting in many more deaths. One of the main reasons for the high number of fatalities is speeding by drivers,” said a senior road ministry official.

Main reasons behind road accidents and fatalities

Overspeeding and talking on mobile phone are the two main reasons behind the road accidents and deaths, according to road transport ministry’s research wing

Two-wheelers involved in maximum accidents. Of the 52,500 two-wheeler riders killed in road accidents, 19.3 % were without helmets

According to a World Bank estimate, road accidents cost India about 3% of its gross domestic product every year.

Almost half or 46.3% of the road fatalities victim in 2016 were in the age-group of 18-35 years. The maximum number of road accidents — 1.9 lakh — occurred on two-lane roads.

At 1,591, Delhi topped the list of million plus cities that reported the highest number of road accident deaths in 2016 while Chennai had the highest number of road accidents at 7,486.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of road accident deaths in 2016 at 19,320 followed by Tamil Nadu at 17,218 and Maharashtra at 12,935.

Road sector experts say one of the primary reasons behind such a high number of road accidents in India is the fact that the increase in road length has failed to keep pace with the number of registered motor vehicles.

While vehicle registration has gone up by 10% during 2005-2015, road length during the same period increased only 3.75%. This has resulted in congestion on roads leading to a spike in accidents, experts said.

The spiralling road accident numbers bring to the fore the urgency to expedite the passage of the of the motor vehicle amendment bill that lawmakers have put on hold for the last several years. The amendments, proposed in 2010, is yet to see the light of the day.

Once approved, it will pave the way for a host of reforms including imposing hefty penalties for traffic violations. The bill was referred to a parliamentary panel for review during the monsoon session.

The report shows overspeeding and talking on mobile phone while driving were two of the main factors that caused the maximum number of road accident and deaths.